The Bed She Made
by Anna J. Perley
Summary: Jennifer Jareau made her bed when she decided to join the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. And she was bound to lay in it. ***One-shot.


*****Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or the quote used in this one-shot. All credit goes to their rightful owner(s).**

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 _"As you make your bed, so must you lie in it."-Daniel J. Boorstin_

Jennifer Jareau grunted as her back hit the cold cement wall behind her. Trying to ignore the excruciating pain in the back of her head, she definitely had a concussion, she moved her eyes back up to the unsub who was now approaching her once more.

 _Where was her team_? They were right behind her just a second ago. Or was it 5 minutes? She didn't remember.

It didn't matter, though. Right now, JJ was more focused on getting out of here alive.

It was times like these where Jennifer questioned the reason why she had ever decided to join the BAU in the first place. She knew what it had in store for her. There were endless possibilities and outcomes that could ultimately change one of their lives after every case.

There was a very high percentage of one of her team members or her herself never coming back from one, or even being kidnapped or held hostage by an unsub, much like what was going on now. Why would she ever think of giving up her peaceful home-town life for this.

Now that she had her beautiful son Henry and her amazing husband Will, why would she even consider putting any of it on the line and risk losing all that she had in the first place? She had so much already. A wonderful family, a nice home. What more could she ask for?

Was it really worth risking for something as dangerous as what she did almost every single day at work. Yes, family always came first, but her team members were family as well.

When it came to the safety of the people she loved, JJ would most definitely do all she could to keep her loved-ones safe and protect them. Apparently, this applied to "strangers" as well.

Helping victims or people in danger of having the same fate as the person who had suffered before them was something JJ was very passionate about. Jennifer always did her best in each case to try and save as many people as she could.

Of course, the team couldn't save everybody, but knowing that they had saved at least one more life always made things a little brighter though.

But that wasn't just it. Although JJ was constantly trying to help save other people during cases, her work almost always interfered with her home life.

There were many times where JJ wouldn't come home for about 4 nights straight, only to be back home for only a day or two before leaving again.

There were plenty of times she had to miss or cancel any plans made to spend time with her family, always leaving them in a hurry and barely ever to give them a proper goodbye.

She often regret having to always leave her family the way that she did, and though she always made sure to spend as much time as she could with them when she came home, she knew that this was what she signed up for.

JJ would not always be able to come home early to her family, or spend the proper amount of time she'd like before she'd leave on another case.

JJ wouldn't always be able to be there for everything Henry did or all of his firsts, but she always did try to make it whenever she could.

She knew there was a possibility that she or another team member would never be able to come home again or come back from another case. And she knew that she would most likely get hurt at one point in the job.

But this was what she chose to do. The job that she signed up for and worked hard to get to where she was at now. This was the bed she made.

With this in mind, Jennifer found the unbelievable push to keep on fighting and make it out alive. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her body as she quickly dodged the unsub's punch, hearing his fist crack as it hit the hard cement wall behind them.

Giving the unsub a quick round-house kick and another one, only to where the sun doesn't shine but the rain comes out, JJ quickly grabbed their arms and pinned them against their back, pushing the unsub against the wall tightly so that they couldn't move.

JJ heard people entering behind her, two other agents taking the unsub and paramedics who were going to tend to her injuries.

Jennifer looked around her one last time before following the medics out onto the street where the ambulance was parked. Hotch and a handful of other agents, including her team mates, thanked her for what she'd done to catch the unsub.

She let out a breath of relief, feeling a tiny smile spread across her face at the fact that they had been able to save another life.

It was these little things that made the job worth doing. This was the reason she signed up for the job. This was the reason she was doing it in the first place.

Yes, working in the FBI'S Behavioral Analysis Unit has it's lows and painful moments. There was always the risk of dying or becoming seriously injured during the job. But there were also good things about it too. She just had to remind herself from time to time that this was the reason for doing what she did.

That, and the fact that this was the bed she had made all those years ago when she applied for it. _And she was bound to lay in it._


End file.
